By Alfred M Aswani | Project Liaison
Hi to you all friends of St Martins school,
We are glad to have made it this far. It has not been an easy few months with the high cost of food, inflation, and drought that we are currently experiencing in the country. Children from our school and the slum are the most affected as they are less likely to get their meals while at home. As a school, it has been a struggle feeding the 800-plus students in our primary school, the 200 girls in high school, and the close to 1000 children who attend our weekly Saturday feeding program. We are grateful for the support we have received over the course of this year.
Education: The 2022 school academic year ended on the 23rd of November. Students in preschool, grades 1-5 and 7, and forms 1- 3 have closed school for the long holidays. They did their end-of-year term and year exams and most of them performed very well. They will be on an extended holiday break is close to two months. Classes will resume on the 23rd of January 2023.
Graduating class of 2022: 85 students in grade 6, 74 students in grade 8 and 34 girls in From 4 will be sitting their end of Primary and Secondary school national exams in November and December. Grade 8 students and final-year students in high school are guaranteed to transition to secondary schools and colleges/Universities. Grade 6 pupils are supposed to join Junior high though we are still unsure of their transition. As a school, we have resolved to set up a junior high school and we are in the process of working towards having one set up before February 2023.
University and Tertiary Education: 11 students are currently pursuing different courses in colleges and Universities here in Kenya and Rwanda. Modester is in her final year at African Leadership University pursuing Computer Science and Linda is also in her final year pursuing her nursing Diploma at The Kenya Medical Training Institute. There is a need to support our boys and girls through to universities and colleges as it is through this support that they are fully able to make it out of the slum and help themselves and their families.
Competency-Based Curriculum graduates: 85 pupils in grade 6 will be sitting their national exams this November. This is the first group of students to join junior high in the next year. We are still not sure of its implementation though we are in the process of establishing a junior school because we fear some pupils might miss out on junior high due to limited spaces and financial constraints. We are waiting on the way forward on how best to go about the graduates and we will be sure to send an update.
St Martins school feeding and the current situation in the country: Kenya is facing its worst drought in 40 years. The rains have failed in the last 3 years. The driest areas are the most affected with animals dying and people reliant on relief food. At St Martin's School, Kibagare, Sr. Emmah has struggled and worries about the 800 students in our school daily feeding and children who come for the weekend feeding program. The costs of food have more than doubled, a good example is a 90 kg bag of maize previously costing KES 3000 is now being sold at KES 7000. Prices of fuel and other commodities have also gone up due to inflation. Still, we continue to feed the children despite the increased cost and we hope to continue doing the same when the children resume school in January 2023.
Saturday Feeding Program: We have continued with the Saturday feeding program for the children from the slum and other slums within our area. Children come as early as 9 am while the serving starts at 12.45 pm.27,486 children have been fed from July to date The weekend feeding program is important for the school and the community because without most of the children will be in the streets begging for food and looking for ways to feed themselves exposing them to exploitation and or being forced into the streets. We wish to sincerely thank the people and organizations that donate towards this noble task. This support helps to serve orphans and vulnerable children. May you be blessed abundantly.
Food baskets for the most vulnerable in the community: Schools are closed for the long holiday from the 23rd of November to January 23rd, 2023, well over 2 months. Most of the guardians of our children and the many in the community are worried. Most may not be able to feed the children for the long duration they will be at home.
In 2020 when COVID affected us all we had a food baskets fundraiser for our children and the most vulnerable in the slum. Through this, we are able to guarantee meals for most families. We are appealing for support to help on this as it will go a long way in ensuring children are not forced to beg or sleep hungry. We have started a fundraiser http://goto.gg/57607 on GlobalGiving to help sustain the families during this long holiday break, our request is to share this with friends, family, and colleagues to help this initiative.
We are grateful for the far we have come thank to the support we have received from you all to date and we hope to continue serving the community here in the hope that through this support they will be able to make ends meets and improve their lives one day at a time.
We wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Thank you and be blessed.
St Martins School, Kibagare.
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